Chapter 4 – Stink Bugs
Xia Runong had no idea his brother and Liao Cheng were talking about him.
When he reached the plastic greenhouse, he curiously studied it for a while.
The greenhouse was small, only covering half a ridge. The plastic sheet looked like it had been used for a long time, yellowed and covered in creases.
Xia Runong carefully removed the soil weighing down the edges of the plastic sheet and gently lifted it.
The temperature inside was noticeably warmer, and a musty smell of decaying straw hit him as soon as he opened it.
Peeking inside, he saw three types of vegetables—Chinese cabbage, garlic sprouts, and baby greens.
The Chinese cabbage was enormous, each plant reaching up to his thighs, standing in rows like cement pillars.
He widened his eyes and leaned in for a closer look. After examining for a while, he realized that aside from being larger and having greener outer leaves, these cabbages didn’t look much different from the ones he had seen in supermarkets before the disaster.
He sniffed them, and the smell was about the same. It seemed like these were just normal cabbages that had grown larger.
He wondered whether it was due to a different variety or the result of post-disaster mutations.
Compared to the cabbages, the garlic sprouts planted nearby seemed ordinary. Their size, appearance, and smell were similar to what he had seen in supermarkets before.
Xia Lu Nong observed for a moment, then selected three sturdy garlic sprouts to pull.
Since he had never farmed before, he wasn’t prepared for his first time pulling garlic from the ground. He grabbed the lower part of the garlic stem with one hand and tried to yank it out, but to his surprise, it didn’t budge.
His face turned red as he pulled harder, but it was as if the garlic sprout had been cemented into the soil!
Xia Lu Nong let out a “Hey!” and wiped the sweat from his forehead, determined to pull it out. He gripped the sprout with both hands and tried again.
He used all his strength, the veins on his neck bulging as he leaned back with all his weight. After a while, he finally heard a “pop” and realized the garlic sprout had broken in half.
Caught off guard, he fell backward onto the ground, bumping into the plastic greenhouse with a “thud.”
Instinctively, he lifted the broken garlic sprout to his eyes, completely dumbfounded.
“Xia Nong!” Xia Huo Qu noticed him falling and quickly walked over. He lifted the plastic covering and stuck his head inside. “What happened?”
“Well…” Xia Runong sheepishly rubbed his sore backside and held up the broken garlic sprout to show his brother. “I broke it.”
“No problem, I’ll do it.” His brother glanced at the sprout, bent down, and with a light pull, easily pulled out the bottom half.
Xia Runong took it from him.
The garlic’s roots were thick and bushy, like a big paintbrush, with dirt still clinging to them.
Xia Runong reached out to brush off the dirt and started pulling off the roots.
“The roots are edible,” Xia Huo Qu stopped him and pointed at the garlic bulb. “Just brush the dirt off.”
Xia Lu Nong looked at the thick roots and obediently stopped pulling them out, focusing only on brushing off the dirt.
Xia Huo Qu bent down to inspect the garlic bed and picked out two more slender garlic sprouts from the denser part, handing them to his brother before moving to the corner to pull baby greens.
Xia Lu Nong followed him and noticed that the greens had quite a few holes from insect bites. Some leaves were chewed down to the veins.
“Why are there so many bugs?”
“Greens are prone to pests. Growing them in the greenhouse helps a bit, but if you plant them outside, the bugs will eat them before we get the chance to.”
Watching his brother’s actions closely, Xia Lu Nong realized that even when pulling greens, his brother chose the smaller ones from the denser areas, just like with the garlic.
Imitating his brother, Xia Runong clumsily picked the greens and curiously asked, “Why not pick the bigger ones?”
“They’re all from the same batch. The bigger ones are growing well and will keep growing, but the smaller ones won’t get much bigger no matter how long you wait.”
“Oh,” Xia Lu Nong replied, then quietly asked, “The cabbages are so big, and the baby greens are so small. Why don’t we just plant cabbages? They seem more worth it.”
“Cabbages take two months to grow, while baby greens can be eaten in just over 20 days. Sometimes, we like to change things up.”
Xia Lu Nong nodded in understanding.
He had only eaten boiled cabbage a few times, but he was already sick of it. Just seeing the cabbages made his mouth water with acid reflux. He, too, wanted to try something different.
His brother worked quickly, and while talking, he had already pulled a small bunch of greens. He stood up and said, “Let’s go.”
Xia Lu Nong straightened his back, massaging his sore lower back. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his brother reach down and pick something off the leaves. He tossed it to the ground and stomped on it before picking up a few more, holding something in his hand.
Xia Lu Nong peered over his brother’s shoulder. “Bro, what are you holding?”
Xia Huo Qu opened his palm, revealing the insects. “Stink bugs.”
Xia Lu Nong recoiled and wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Ugh,” he muttered, looking at the bugs with distaste.
But soon, he noticed something odd about the bugs. Frowning, he leaned in for a closer look. “What’s that under the bug’s head?”
“That’s also a head,” Xia Huo Qu replied, showing him. “It’s mutated.”
Xia Lu Nong “?!!”
Xia Runong finally saw it clearly—the bug had three heads!
One head was in its normal place, but there was another head growing from its back, and a third, partially developed head to the left of the second, with only one eye visible.
Goosebumps rose all over Xia Lu Nong’s skin, and a chill ran through him as he shivered involuntarily.
“How did it end up like this?” he muttered.
The sight of this insect was enough to cause mental distress!
Xia Huo Qu saw him rubbing his arms and casually tossed the bug to the ground, crushing it underfoot. “It just looks ugly. It’s not poisonous.”
Xia Lu Nong took a deep breath. “Are the wild animals outside mutated like this too?”
Now he understood why the people at the base clinic always said that when people shapeshifted, they looked very different from wild beasts. You could tell the difference at a glance.
With extra heads and limbs like that, how could anyone not notice?
Xia Huo Qu said, “Some of them aren’t as disgusting. Let’s go. Lunchtime is waiting.”
“Okay,” Xia Lu Nong replied, still glancing down at the ground.
Liao Cheng, having finished his cigarette, came looking for them when they didn’t return for a while.
When he stepped into the greenhouse, he immediately noticed something was off with Xia Lu Nong and asked, “What’s going on?”
“He saw some mutated bugs.”
“Xia Nong hasn’t seen any mutated bugs or beasts yet?” Liao Cheng quickly understood. “Don’t worry. The base has been cleaned out many times, and there are always people patrolling the mountain. The really dangerous creatures can’t get in. Just be careful not to get bitten or stung.”
Xia Lu Nong asked, “Then the wild animals we eat—”
“How could there be any wild animals? We haven’t gone hunting for days,” Liao Cheng quickly responded with a laugh. “Don’t worry, the meat is good. Those beasts with multiple heads and legs mutate too severely. We generally don’t dare to eat them; they’re poisonous.”
Only then did Xia Lu Nong feel relieved.
Liao Cheng chuckled, “The meat we’re going to eat was stored around New Year’s. You know the cafeteria has a big freezer, right? They store meat and vegetables there, and it can last for half a year. The piece of meat I saved is in that cellar.”
Xia Lu Nong could accept that.
Even before the disaster, the frozen section of a fridge could keep food for about half a year.
Liao Cheng looked a bit eager. “By the way, I still have some chili saved. Let’s have a good meal today, with white rice.”
Xia Huo Qu added, “We still have half a bag of rice grains at home. You get the chili, and I’ll bring the rice.”
Liao Cheng waved his hand. “No need, I’ve got rice at home too.”
“Don’t argue. You’re providing the meat; we’ll provide the rice. We’re getting the better deal.”
Liao Cheng tried to refuse several more times but couldn’t, so with a grin, he went home to get the chili and seasonings.
Xia Huo Qu, meanwhile, took Xia Lu Nong home to get the rice.
Xia Lu Nong was curious. “Bro, where are the rice grains stored? I haven’t seen them.”
“Hanging by the window in my room. The pile of stuff there, next to the quilts, is where the rice is tied up.”
In the base, families with more people generally stored grain in granaries, while those with fewer people and not much food, like Xia Lu Nong’s family, would hang their supplies from the ceiling.
Dry fruits, snacks, and seasonings were also hung up this way to ensure ventilation, keep out dust, and, most importantly, protect against snakes, mice, insects, and ants.
Xia Huo Qu took down the rice. “We’ll take the rice to the cafeteria later. They charge half a pound of rice for every ten pounds processed, and the rest will be returned to us as rice and bran.”
When rice is milled, two things are produced: rice and bran.
The rice is for eating, and while bran can sometimes be eaten, it’s mostly used to feed livestock.
Since the Xia family didn’t raise any animals, they usually traded the bran at the market for other goods.
Looking at the small bag of precious rice, Xia Lu Nong felt a bit reluctant for the first time. “Can’t we mill the rice ourselves?”
There was a stone grinder under the tree outside the cafeteria, so milling it themselves was convenient.
Xia Huo Qu, holding the rice in one hand, gave him a gentle push on the shoulder and led him forward. “Milling rice is time-consuming and labor-intensive. It’s not worth it.”
Xia Lu Nong had no choice but to let go of his regretful thoughts.
They first went to the cafeteria, where they exchanged the rice grains for milled rice and immediately asked the cafeteria staff to start cooking white rice.
This also required using their own rice, and they had to leave the rice soup for the cafeteria.
Sitting outside the kitchen, Xia Lu Nong watched as the staff rinsed the rice and set it in the steamer.
The cafeteria provided meals for about eighty percent of the people in the base. The firewood burned strong, and soon after the rice was put in, the fragrant aroma of cooked rice began to fill the air.
Xia Lu Nong sat just outside the kitchen, his eyes fixed on the steamer without blinking, his throat constantly moving as he quietly swallowed saliva.
It had been a long time since he’d eaten white rice. Before, he had only been able to drink a bit of plain rice porridge.
White rice smelled amazing. Even without tasting it yet, Xia Lu Nong could already imagine the feeling of soft, hot rice slowly being chewed in his mouth.
His gaze stayed fixed on the steamer, and even when Liao Cheng brought over the chili and the kitchen staff brought out a piece of meat, he didn’t look away.
Mealtime had started in the cafeteria. Groups of people holding meal tickets and bowls came to get their food, and many gave Xia Lu Nong a curious glance as they passed by him sitting outside the kitchen.
Xia Lu Nong didn’t care about their looks. He sat on a small wooden stool, sniffing deeply at the aroma of rice coming from the kitchen. Even if he couldn’t eat yet, just smelling it was satisfying.
While he was still savoring the scent of rice, the kitchen had already sliced the meat and vegetables, preparing to fry up some stir-fried pork.
As soon as the oil hit the pan and the garlic sprouts sizzled, the overpowering smell of fried chili replaced the aroma of the rice entirely.
It was the first time Xia Lu Nong had smelled this scent since he woke up. The memory of pre-disaster life came flooding back, and suddenly, he wasn’t as eager for the rice anymore. His eyes lit up as he watched the kitchen staff fry the meat.
The meat sizzled loudly as it hit the pan, the rich aroma of lard frying with garlic sprouts and chili filled the air, both sharp and delicious. Xia Runong coughed from the pungency but couldn’t bear to look away.
Liao Cheng had stationed him by the kitchen door to supervise, to make sure the staff didn’t sneak any bites. Meanwhile, he stood not far away, smoking and chatting with Xia Huo Qu.
Xia Huo Qu responded absentmindedly, his eyes mostly on his younger brother.
Since Xia Lu Nong had only recently woken up, they had kept his hair shaved close to the scalp during his coma to make care easier. Now, it hadn’t grown back much, and he looked like a freshly ordained monk. Without the softening effect of hair, his face seemed even paler and more delicate, making him look even younger.
Watching him like this, Xia Huo Qu felt a pang of sadness.
Liao Cheng noticed that Xia Huo Qu was watching his brother and followed his gaze. Cigarette in hand, he remarked, “Little Nong seems pretty well-behaved.”
“The more well-behaved, the more I worry about him,” Xia Huo Qu smiled slightly. “Thanks for your help today. Let’s have a good drink later.”
At the mention of alcohol, Liao Cheng’s face lit up. He patted Xia Huo Qu’s arm. “You’re a good brother!”
